Reprogramming
by xt1me
Summary: The Winter Solider did not fail. If the Winter Solider failed he must be reprogrammed. No one ever said the Winter Solider couldn't reprogram himself.


_Posting this here messed with my formatting a bit but I think this still works._

 _as always; don't own, don't sue._

* * *

The Asset left the mission target on the river bank after he made sure he was breathing. __In, out. come on, you can do it. Just keep breathing.__

Avoiding detection, he made his way back to the Hydra rendezvous point. It was currently abandoned.

Obeying standing orders to wait for collection, he ignored the pain building behind his eyes. He ignored the flashes of feelings and images, like a disjointed remembering of a mission briefing he was never given. _But I knew him._

Standing orders were to return to Hydra after missions.

But the mission had not been completed. -The-mission-had-failed-.

The pain was getting worse.

The Winter Solider did not fail to complete a mission.  
If the Winter Solider failed it must be recalibrated. _No, no, no, no.  
_ If recalibration was not possible the Winter Solider was obsolete and must self-terminate.

The pain was spreading though to the back of his head.

The Winter Solider did not fail.  
Obstacles were avoided or else they were eliminated.  
The mission objective was to eliminate Captain America AKA Steven Grant Rogers.  
The Asset had almost completed the mission but- _"I'm not going to fight you.."  
_ Mission failure was due to the interface of the Asset AKA Winter Soldier.

The Winter Soldier did not fail.

 _The pain was getting worse._

The Winter Soldier obeyed orders.  
The Winter Solider always completed the mission.  
The Winter Solider did not fail.  
The Winter Solider did not complete this mission because- _I knew him._

"Oh my god!" A group of Hydra operatives had arrived at the rendezvous point. The asset recognised them but they were not high up in command. They were not assigned as his handler nor were a part of the scientific staff that could perform maintenance.

"It's him."  
"What do we do?"  
"Do you think he knows?"

The Asset ignored they're mutterings. He was busy.

 _Pain, pain, pain._

The Winter Soldier obeyed orders, unless higher orders prevented it.  
The Winter Soldier's mission was to terminate Captain America AKA Steven Grant Rogers.  
The Winter Soldier had saved Captain America AKA Steven Grant Rogers.  
Therefore higher orders command the protection of mission target Captain America AKA Steven Grant Rogers. _Yes.  
_

It didn't matter if the Asset could not remember the orders. The Asset knew many things he did not remember learning.

The Winter Solider did not fail.

The pain started to recede.

Higher orders were to protect Captain America AKA Steven Grant Rogers. _Protect Stevie.  
_ Only current handler can issue mission orders.

"Where is Pierce," the Asset watched, un-reacting, as the Hydra goons flinched when he spoke. He kept himself still as they babbled what little information they had. How Pierce had been in the Triskelion but then a Helicarrier landed on top of it. How there had been some sort of massive leak for SHIELD about Hydra or something. How they didn't really know anything other then the fact that everything was falling apart. How they were only grunts that never got told anything by the higher ups.

The Asset didn't move until the last one finally trailed off by asking what they should do now.

They were asking him for a mission.

-Mission-failed-.  
Mission complete.  
Mission ?

Only current handler can issue mission orders.  
Current handler dead. _Yes.  
_

They were asking _him_ for a mission.

"More information necessary." The Asset said as he walked to one of the preparation rooms.

"Hey, were are you going?" one of them yelled.

"Do you think we should stop him?" One of them asked another.

"Do you want to try it?" another replied.

The Asset went back to ignoring them as he preformed basic field maintenance.

Wash. Dress wounds. Hydrate. Calorie intake. Re-equip weapons.

Dressed for urban infiltration the Asset slipped out of the safe house as the Hydra mooks bustled around looking for more information about what had happened. He did not care if they had taken his words as an order. He didn't care about Hydra at all. He had his own reconnaissance to do. _"Your name is James Buchanan Barnes"_

The Smithsonian exhibit had been educational if unsettling. Some of the information there had echoed oddly in his mind, like he had known it before but in a different context. Some of it had thrown up feelings that he didn't understand. Some of it had brought up images without context, sounds he had no reference for, things that made him tense though he didn't know why.

He had caught himself almost reaching out to correct a date only to stop, not knowing why it was wrong.

He had stood in front of the picture of Sergeant James BuchananBarns feeling lost but so close to something. _This is me._

The Winter Soldier's mission was to terminate Captain America AKA Steven Grant Rogers.  
The Winter Soldier obeyed orders, unless higher orders prevented it.  
Higher orders command the protection of mission target Captain America AKA Steven Grant Rogers AKA Stevie.  
Higher orders came from Sergeant James BuchananBarns AKA Bucky.

Sergeant James BuchananBarns AKA Bucky is the Asset AKA the Winter Solider.  
Only current handler can issue mission orders.  
Current handler is original handler Sergeant James BuchananBarns AKA Bucky AKA the Asset AKA the Winter Solider.

Current mission ? _is what ever the hell I want._

Standing orders are to eliminate any Hydra agents at risk of exposing Hydra.  
Hydra has been exposed.  
Sergeant James BuchananBarns had fought Hydra.  
Standing orders are to eliminate any Hydra agents -at-risk-of-exposing-Hydra-.  
Standing orders are to eliminate all Hydra agents.

And he knew just were to find some.


End file.
